Dialogue: An effort to help neighbors understand each other

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: This was a unique challenge for ARY News to connect panels and town hall audiences across three key cities in South Asia: ARY in Islamabad, NDTV in Delhi and Tolo in Kabul, for which the largest news channel of the country proudly brings you a special program, which will be one of its kind.

Being the anchorperson of the program and Editor Strategic Affairs, Moeed Pirzada explained in the outset: “Terrorism is a subject passionately discussed in all three capitals. People in all three neighborly countries have suffered immensely from violence perpetrated by radicals of all hues and shades, insurgent groups, and militants – often helped from across the borders or driven in following of international interests”.

Since 2009, 80% of all victims of terrorism in South Asia happened to be in Pakistan. During the program, brother of young lawyer, Fiza who died in a terrorist attack on Islamabad court and a family that lost loved ones in attack at All Saints Church Peshawar narrated their sufferings; similar accounts emerged from Kabul and Delhi.

Pakistani panelists – Air Marshall Shahid Lateef and Member Parliament Asad Umar – emphasized that the scourge of terrorism is regional and international in character and trying to put blame on one or the other side is only a form of denial of one’s one role in encouraging this scourge which now afflicts all.

In early 1970’s India created, armed and let loose violent hordes of Mukti Bahni in former East Pakistan; after the Iranian revolution of 1979, both Saudi Arabia and the US encouraged Sunni groups to fight against Shia influence in the region of which Pakistan became the biggest victim and so on. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and internationally supported war Islamist Afghan warlords against Russia, the subsequent civil war and chaos in Afghanistan, appearance of Taliban militias, 9/11 by Arab militants of Al Qaeda and new regional issues created by the presence of US and foreign troops in Afghanistan are all interconnected in a complex web of conflict which needs to be understood and resolved knot by knot.

Under the present situation all sides will have to accept their mistakes and develop an understanding for a better shared future.

The program named ‘Dialogue’ is an initiative taken by the largest news channel of Pakistan to connect the three neighboring states (Pakistan, India and Afghanistan), which are often found locking horns with each other due to any of the above mentioned issues and to help them sort out these matters.

The program will exclusively be aired on ARY News, at 10 pm on Thursday, October 30 – don’t forget to watch and keep yourself informed about the affairs within the country and across the borders.